As Australians turn to cashless payments in ever
increasing numbers, vendors selling The Big Issue are making the move
to contactless payments for those wanting to pay for the magazine
without cash. A new integrated campaign by full service creative agency
Town Square has been launched to show how vendors are 'Now accepting'
the new digital payment methods.
Each self-employed Big
Issue vendor buys copies of the fortnightly magazine for half the cover
price and retains the retail margin as their income. After consulting
with vendors, The Big Issue has adopted two new payment systems to
enable customers to pay without cash from November: Airpay - a tap and
go credit/debit card terminal powered by NAB that the vendor wears on a
lanyard and Beem It - an app that allows transactions between vendor and
purchasers' mobile phones.
Town Square, which has been working with The Big Issue on a pro bono
basis for a number of years, has developed the campaign in association
with Carat, who has secured donated media on TV, cinema, radio, press,
OOH and online.
The campaign highlights often overlooked
vendors, who run the risk of
being left behind by a cashless society and
creates an association between individual vendors and world's most
trusted payment brands. The resulting message is as simple as it is
powerful.
Says Steven Persson, CEO, The Big Issue: "The Big
Issue is addressing the trend towards digital transactions. This
campaign is our proud announcement that vendors are now trading with
contactless technologies, as well as cash. The campaign has its creative
focus firmly where it should be - on the vendors - and we look forward
to seeing more Big Issue readers enjoy the magazine, knowing that each
transaction is helping marginalised Australians to earn a living in the
community."
Says Harry Corsham, director, Town Square: "Imagine
the challenge of creating a digital payment system for a national
network of self-employed, homeless and disadvantaged people. It's a big,
complicated project and one we are very proud to have been part of.
With so much complexity behind this innovation, Town Square sought to
address the communication challenge with radical simplicity. And it's
the simplicity of the campaign that makes it flexible enough to run
across the many media channels our friends at Carat have secured from a
wide range of supportive media partners. We're proud to be collaborating
with so many parties to give vendors the support they need to earn an
income."
Says Lizzy O'Connor, client operations director, Carat: "It's so rewarding to witness the generosity of our long-term
media partners who have really got behind this great cause. With such an
agile campaign that cuts through so many mediums, we have been able to
secure a very robust media plan for the metro areas where vendors work.
It's great to see the industry get behind such a worthy cause."